Tobacco product



April 8, 1941.

w. H. MASON TOBACCO PRODUCT Filed May 3, 1939 J 'gHZ.

W, JYJM @8070 IN VEN TOR.

y v q j A TTORNEYS.

Patented Apr. 8, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to chewing tobacco and more especially to twists.

Heretofore in the production of twists of tobacco it has been the practice to wrap them with leaf tobacco of a high grade. Not only has this added greatly to the cost of production but the added weight has increased the heavy per pound Federal excise tax now levied. Furthermore, in

order to distribute advertising matter with the twists it has been necessary to add tags or other means which likewise serve to increase production costs.

An object of the present invention is to place the filler in a Wrapper of suitable air-tight material, such as Cellophane, on which desired printed matter is displayed, thereby eliminating the costly leaf wrapper and attached tags.

A further object is to provide a wrapper which is twisted with the tobacco and which, being transparent as well as air-tight exposes the tobacco filler to .view so that the appearance of the twist remains about the same as that of the ordinary leaf-wrapped twist.

Another object is'to provide a wrapper which is much lighter than a leaf wrapper so that the tax per twist is reduced.

A still further object is to provide a wrapper which is cheaper than a leaf wrapper but is more durable and affords better protection.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claim, it being understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawing the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawing Figure 1 is a perspective View of the wrapper and filler at one stage of manufacture of a twist.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the completely wrapped filler.

Figure 3 is an enlarged elevation of the completed twist.

Figure 4 is a section through the twist on line 4-4, Figure 3.

Referring to the drawing by characters of reference, I designates the usual filler of tobacco processed in the usual way and adapted to be wrapped in a length of transparent, air-tight sheet material 2 of Cellophane or the like on which any desired printed matter can be displayed as at 3. It is preferred to wrap the sheet 2 spirally about the filler so as to lap at its edges.

Following the wrapping operation the filler will be completely sealed against admission of air and the entire article is then looped and twisted as shown in Figure 3. 4

Obviously the use of a transparent film such as Cellophane, which is light, inexpensive and tough, the twists can be produced by cheaper methods of operation not possible where a tobacco leaf is used as a wrapper.

By looping and twisting the wrapper with the filler, accidental separation thereof is prevented. Instead of using a film of transparent material, any type of lightweight material of any color preferred might be used and while it is preferred to employ a transparent wrapper, one which is not transparent might be used under some conditions.

While the improvements are designed primarily for use with twist tobacco, they obviously could be employed with plug tobacco or other forms of tobacco of the chewing type.

The term sheet material as herein used, applies to material supplied either in sheet form or in rolls.

While the wrapper can be held in place simply by twisting, looping or tying it, it is to be understood that it may also be held in position by pressure so as to adhere to the enclosed product and not become accidentally separated therefrom.

As the processed filler, when fresh, has certain adhesive qualities, it will be apparent that when the thin wrapper is applied thereto and pressed tightly thereagainst, it will adhere to the filler so that it will not become accidentally detached therefrom.

As the wrapper is of a tough, waterproof material incorporated in the product by the twisting of the product and wrapper, it will be apparent that this wrapper cannot be stripped bodily from the tobacco. As the tobacco is used, however, the wrapper can be stripped from that end where the tobacco is to be removed and following the removal of a portion of the tobacco, the wrapper can be twisted beyond said end so as to keep the tobacco therein sealed and protected.

What is claimed is:

A tobacco product comprising a filler .of tobacco, and a transparent film of tough, airtight sheet material wrapped about the filler throughout its length to completely enclose and protect the filler, said filler and wrapper being looped and twisted to prevent stripping of the wrapper from the tobacco except at the end of the product where tobacco is to be removed, said wrapper constituting a closure for the product following removal of a portion of the tobacco therefrom.

WILLIAM H. MASON. 

